The Rise of the Shadow Mage
by Artur Paendrag Tanreall
Summary: At the age of six Harry will awaken a power that will help him on the way to greatness. Shadow Magic. Escaping from Privet Dr. Harry begins a quest that will either lead the wizarding to a new utopia or will plunge it into a new Dark age. Powerful Harry.
1. Chapter 1

**The Rise of a Shadow Mage**

**Chapter One**

I don't own Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or the wheel of time.

A/N: I have updated this chapter and the next after doing some more research.

_The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the _Fifth_ Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the a wind rose in the _city called London_. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning. __**(1) **_The wind swept through the bustling metropolis and out into the suburbs. It swept through suburb of Little Whinging, Surrey. It howled as it passed by the sleeping Privet Drive disturbing no as no one was awake except one.

A six year old Harry Potter shivered in his cupboard. It had been his for as long as he could remember. The place was dark and often quite damp. He had questioned why he was living in a cupboard before and it had resulted in one of his worst beatings ever, although not as bad as yesterday. He had been lying on his meager mattress ever since his oh so loving Uncle had thrown him in here yesterday. At least he thought it was yesterday. His body was wracked with pain and he was nearly delirious. He had just been curious and wanted to know why Dudley had received presents when he had not. He had long ago learned not to ask questions of his family but in a moment of carelessness he had blurted it out.

His Uncle's face had turned a pasty puce color. Harry had paled and then with a resounding blow to the head the beating began. This was not like any of the previous beatings. Before his Uncle had been careful not to bruise his face or hands lest the neighbors talk. Not like this time. His Uncle began with his head and worked his way down Harry's body. By the time he had finished Harry was unconscious with numerous bruises and possible more than a few broken bones. Harry's glasses that the school had forced the Dursley's to buy had shattered and his face was covered in countless small lacerations. When Vernon had finished he had thrown Harry into his cupboard and locked the door.

Now more than 24 hours later Harry was fading in and out of consciousness. In his delirium all he could think of was that he wished he was safe. This though was the only thing that had kept him going so far. This continued until the clock struck midnight. As the grandfather clock in the hall chimed out twelve chimes Harry's eyes began to glow a deep black. As the eyes stopped glowing he began to fade into the floor and with nary a sound he disappeared from Privet Drive forever.

Harry appeared on the floor of a grand entrance hall. Meer seconds later a female house elf named Tipsy in a set of ornate robes appeared. She was crouched in a defensive position and was prepared to defend the castle from whoever had breached the wards. As she noticed Harry moaning feebly on the floor her eyes widened in surprise the human child positively reeked of unrestrained power. Among that power she could sense the gifts of the Le Fay line. The heir had finally returned. Moving quickly she summoned the best healer among the castles elves.

Two quick pops and Harry was lying on a bed in the small infirmary wing being tended to by three healer elves. The elves worked furiously to keep their patient alive and it was nearly an hour later before they pronounce him in stable condition. They tucked him into the bed in the master suite and waited for him to wake up. It took nearly three days before Harry began to stir. In a flash Tipsy was back at his side.

Harry tried to sit up but winced as pain lanced through his left arm. He was surprised at this he should have been hurt a lot worse than just his left arm. And come to think of it there shouldn't be any light in his cupboard. He opened his eyes and to say he was astonished would be an understatement. He was in the most lavish bedroom he had ever seen. The small creature by his bedside though threw him for a loop and he barely managed to choke back a scream due to his years of abuse at the hands of the Dursleys. The creature gave a smile and introduced itself as Tipsy. He managed to croak out a question. "What are you?" His voice was scratchy and his throat felt parched.

With a soft smile Tipsy responded in a gentle tone. "I am a house-elf Young Master. I take it from your question you have never heard of magic before." Receiving a nod she continued and began a brief overview of the magical world. To say that Harry was surprised would be a massive understatement. He finally knew why those strange things happened to him. He wasn't a freak he just had a gift. This revelation changed his outlook on life completely. Whereas before he felt worthless due to the actions of his relatives now he had new hope. He had a place where he could belong and a place where he felt safe for the first time.

Despite his shy demeanor he was bursting with questions. He had refrained from asking so far but with Tipsy's soft encouragement the questions began to spill out. He wanted to know where they were, how he got there and most importantly if he could stay. Tipsy knew that the last question was the most important to the young boy and told him that he was the new master of the castle and this was his home. He would never be forced back to his abusive relatives. He managed to slip through the wards and arrive in the Keep itself through shadow magic. He was currently lying in the master bedroom of the Royal Palace of Avalon. The last Queen Le Fay had disappeared back in 1959 and while the family elves had not been aware that she was pregnant, they could still feel that an heir was out there so they continued to maintain the Palace as well as the entire chain unplottable islands that had been in the family for almost 1500 years. The Palace and the wards had gradually been added to since their creation and they were the best in Britain. They were several times stronger than the wards at Hogwarts due to there being very few allowed access. Hogwarts was a school and needed to be accessible to the students and staff, but Avalon was inaccessible without the direct permission of the head of the Le Fay family. The Wards were a complex masterpiece. The main wards were a variation on the Fidelius. Instead of a single secret keeper there were seven house-elves that carried a part of the secret but couldn't divulge it. Only the Lord of Avalon could give someone the secret and as a part of the magic of the charm when someone heard the secret they were also bound by secrecy oaths and loyalty oaths about both the islands and anything that happened on the islands without direct permission of the Lord La Fay. There were also wards that affected the weather over the island. The last was the security system. It was a massive semi-sentient warding array that was in place to detect malicious intent towards anyone and was directly tied into the security wards. The security wards were in place to neutralize anyone that got to the island with the intent to cause harm.

The Isles of Avalon were gifted to the sorceress and founder of the La Fay family, Morgan La Fay by her half-brother Arthur Pendragon for services rendered to the British Crown. The islands were 30 Km south of the south-western tip of Great Britain, due south of St. Just. The main Island was about two kilometers long and one kilometer wide and was surrounded by sheer cliffs that rose about 150 meters above the ocean below. It contained the main Palace, a sprawling palace at the south end of the island rose an additional 25 meters above the island. It was the most recent and lavish of the Palaces at the site and was a towering behemoth made of White Yule Marble. **(2)** It was a visual masterpiece that surpassed even the Sun Palace at Versailles. It was built in 1903 and was the fourth palace on the site.

The palace was probably the single greatest repository of magical knowledge and magical artifacts in the entire world. The library had no equal and even contained some of the original scrolls from the Library of Alexandria. There was a team of house elves whose sole job was the acquisition of books and artifacts for the library. They were granted a nearly unlimited budget to obtain these treasures and they were not shy about using less than legal means of acquiring objects of interest. Their efforts allowed the Le Fay family to boast that their library was without peer in the world. Another group of elves keep the library in pristine condition, preserved for eternity. The library was separated into two sections, the first section contained the books that were available to any member of the family and meetings were often held among the books as the library was breathtaking to behold. It spanned three floors and had large bay windows that overlooked the southern half of the archipelago.

The second section was only accessible by direct invitation of the Head of the Family. These were held in a vault deep beneath the Keep and the only entrance was via a portal stone in a room off the master bedroom. This vault held all of the original copies of the books in the main library as well as any book deemed too dangerous for the rest of the family. It also contained most of the artifacts collected over the centuries. Numerous swords from Kings and great warriors, staffs and wands from witches and wizards of great renown, and trinkets both light and dark beyond count. And at the center stood the greatest of the treasures, the Sword Excalibur, gifted to the family upon Arthur's death as well two of the twelve Talismans of the Dragon Lord Shendu, the Dwarven treasures Orcrist, Durin's Axe and the Arkenstone. On a pedestal were two rings, they were two of the three elven rings of power. The Ring Narya once worn by Gandalf the White and the ring Nenya worn by the High Elf Galadrail. The last item was one of the legendary lost seeing stones, the Palantir of the lost city of Minas Tirith.** (3)**

The other islands are home to a wide variety of plants and animals. The elves work many large farms that produce potions ingredients and foodstuff that fetch a high price and keep the La Fay fortune growing. Many plants that are usually found only in the tropics can be grown here due to the unique wards. The wards in addition to protecting the islands create a tropical environment year round. It also prevents it from raining during the day. It is truly a paradise. Each island has numerous runic portal stones that allow for easy access to anywhere you need to go on the islands. The Keep also has an external transportation stone that connects to the numerous La Fay properties around the world. As Tipsy finished her description of the Keep she noticed that Harry was beginning to fall asleep. Tucking him in she vanished from the room after he drifted off. So began the new life of Harry James Potter, Shadow Mage and Lord of the Le Fay family Crown Prince of Avalon.

A/N: I will update when able.

Standard beginning of the Wheel of Time books by Robert Jordan.

Marble found in Colorado, used to make the Lincoln Memorial as well as other monuments in Washington D.C.

Treasures from Lord of the Rings minus the ring of Zeus.

Those of you who read the chapter before the update will notice the lack of the Ring of Zeus. It really didn't fit in with where I wanted the story to go and will more than likely be used in a different story.


	2. Chapter 2

The Rise of the Shadow Mage

Chapter Two

The Break-Out

**Author Note Important: This Chapter was edited shortly after being posted but they were fairly minor changes.**

At the sound of the clock striking midnight Harry looked up from the book he was studying. He was now eight years old. It had been two years to the day since Harry had escaped from Privet Dr. He had found this haven and had learned of his ability to manipulate magic. It had been a good two years. Without the threat of a beating Harry was able to release his inner genius. He had devoured every subject his Elvin teachers had trained him in as well as several projects of his own. After he had healed the House-elves had taken him to the ritual chamber to perform the inheritance ritual that would allow him to fully take charge of the Le Fay Family. They had taken three drops of his blood and commenced the ritual. The results were staggering. He had multiple lordships. They were;

Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter- Lord Potter- Paternal Line.

Heir Apparent of the Ancient and Noble House of Black- Heir Black- Through his Godfather.

Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Slytherin- Lord Slytherin- Through the right of conquest of the last Lord Slytherin.

Heir Apparent of the Ancient and Noble House of Lestrange- Heir Lestrange- through the House of Black.

Regent and Heir Apparent of the Noble House of Grindelwald- Lord Grindelwald.

Prince of the Royal House of Bavaria 8th in line for the throne- Prince Harry- Duke of Fϋssen.

Head of the Ancient and Royal House of le Fay- Prince Harry- Crown Prince of Avalon- Maternal Line.

Head of the Ancient and Royal House of Pendragon- Prince Harry- Duke of Camelot- There is no longer a British Magical Throne as governing of Magical Britain was vested in first the Wizard's Council and later the Ministry of Magic-Maternal Line.

These titles gave him enormous political clout in both Great Britain and the Magical Republic of Bavaria. It also gave him immediate emancipation as the last of noble line. He couldn't believe his eyes. At these revelations his training schedule was change in order to provide him more political training.

Now two years of hard study later he embodied aristocratic perfection. He was confident and graceful but had avoided the arrogance and haughtiness due to his early life. He knew what it was like to be at the bottom of the ladder and refused to treat anyone like his relatives treated him. Now he had studied subjects other than politics and etiquette. He had advanced his abilities to control the shadows to near perfection. He was a powerful shadow mage. As a shadow mage he could command the shadows to do various things. He was able to vanish into the shadows and appear anywhere he could visualize. Since he has an eidetic memory he was able to travel to anywhere he had already been. At first he could only vanish into large patches of shadow, now he had perfected it to such a degree that he was able vanish into the microscopic shadows given off by the dust into midair. He could even vanish in a room without visible shadow. His second ability with the shadow was the ability to use shadows to affect the environment around him. This was two-fold, he could use it like a physical object such as grabbing people or he could use it to create miniature black-hole like shields that can absorb a limited amount of matter including magic. He can also summon up creatures of shadow to attack or carry messages.

After two years he was finally ready. After learning his heritage he had researched to find if he had any living relatives. He had found that his mother's birth father was still alive albeit he was Gellert Grindelwald and had been imprisoned in Nurmengrad since 1945. From what he could discover of his grandmother she had visited him in Nurmengrad in 1959 and had fallen in love with him. She had died giving birth to his mother and she had been adopted by Muggles. He doubted that his grandfather was aware of this and he was planning on breaking him out of Nurmengrad. History had vilified Gellert Grindelwald youngest son of Ludwig III of Bavaria. Germany had fallen into a depression that had threatened to destroy the magical governments. So the German Magical Republics had aligned under the leadership of Grindelwald to form the Deutsche Republiks Zauberei (German Republics of Magic) and pursued and expansionist policy against the smaller states surrounding them. Unlike the muggle governments the magical governments of central Europe were eager to ally with a united Germany as it provided protection against the Soviet war machine. Contrary to the muggle government Magical Germany had no wish to go up against the French Magicals and it was the French who struck first against Germany. Despite nearly winning against France they could not stand against Britain, Russia, and what remained of France. After the defeat of Gellert Grindelwald Germany Surrendered and Grindelwald was vilified outside of Germany. Within Germany Grindelwald remained very much a hero. There were several petitions by Germany to the ICW to free him however Supreme Mugwump Dumbledore refused to allow it.

He had recently had a private meeting with the current King of Bavaria Ludwig IV. In the meeting he had given the King proof of his heritage and had requested his support for a meeting with Grindelwald. The King had agreed and had wholeheartedly welcomed him to the family. The Bavarian Royal Family had been decimated by the war and they had been the main lobbyist for freeing him. It was now a scant two weeks later and Harry was preparing to leave via portkey to the docks. Leaving the main library Harry headed to the transport stone in a room off of his personal quarters at the top of the tower. Once there he teleported to the vault and began to gather everything he would need.

His personal elf appeared in the room. Harry turned to him. "Ah Blink, my battle gear please it is time." With a bow and a quick "yes Master Harry," the elf disappeared and reappeared with his gear. He dressed in his battle robes. The robes were pitch black with silver dragonhide body armor. **(1) **He moved further in the vault and began gathering the artifacts he would need to ensure success. He removed the Dragon and Snake Talismans from their pedestals and slid them into the back of his gauntlets. He slipped the Ring Narya onto the index finger of his right hand. On his right hand were the Signet rings of the Le Fay, Pendragon, and Grindelwald Houses. He gripped the portkey which was the letter of admittance and activated it.

He appeared on a bleak coastline in Northern Germany. A desolate looking man shambled out of a nearby gatehouse and in broken English asked "What do you need?"

Harry kept his expression neutral and responded in fluent German "I am headed to Nurmengrad."

The man held out his hand and Harry handed him the paper. He looked it over and tapped it with his wand. Apparently satisfied he handed the paper back and gestured for Harry to follow him. He led Harry to a small boat and climbed aboard. "It will take one hour."

Harry nodded and began to meditate. He came out of his meditation to find the boatman shaking him. "We here."

With a thank you to the man Harry left the boat and got his first look at Nurmengrad. It had a formidable edifice. The boat landed at a small island away from the prison. It was connected to the prison by a small rickety bridge. Harry crossed the bridge and moved towards the first Guardhouse. As he got close to the guardhouse he could feel the wards. They were strong and if they were at full strength would almost rival le Fay Keep. However they were not at full strength due the decision to automate the prison. As they only had one prisoner they had reassigned the guards and automated security to be handled by one house-elf. When he entered the prison he was met by the elf and was guided to his grandfather. The halls were made of rough hewn stone and seemed to go on forever. They finally arrive at a wooden door and the elf knocked before entering. He could hear elf say that there was a visitor. A rough voice told the elf to send them in. The elf appeared back and gestured him in. Entering the room he got the first view of his grandfather.

You could tell that he was an old man as he had white hair the lines of age. However he still looked vibrant and full of life. His prison contained a small library and a small desk and bed. He looked surprised at the child that entered. He quirked an eyebrow, "and might I ask who are you?"

Harry gave a small chuckle and waved his hand. The walls turned black for a second before reverting to normal. At the shocked expression on his grandfather's face he let out a laugh. "That was a shadow silence ward. It will allow us to speak freely."

Gellert Grindelwald was a hard man to impress but a child who was no older than nine or ten casting shadow magic was something he never expected to see. "That is powerful magic for one so young. I never thought I would see another Shadow Mage. But you still haven't answered my question."

"I am Harry Potter."

Gellert was again shocked. "The Boy-Who-Lived? This is unexpected. When Albus visited he had said that he placed you with muggle relatives and erected a blood ward that would keep you ignorant of magic until you went to Hogwarts and you are surely not eleven."

At the mention of Dumbledore Harry's became a cold mask. "Albus Dumbledore is a misguided fool. I escaped from my muggle 'relatives' and I will never return. If I ever cross paths with them again they will feel a taste of my wrath."

With a hearty laugh Grindelwald agreed with him. "Yes Albus is far too short-sighted. I tell him every time he visits that his desire to only see the best in people will eventually come back to haunt him and I was right. He turned the Boy-Who-Lived against him, utterly priceless." With a final laugh he turned serious. "Now why is a young man like you here to see me?"

Harry responded completely deadpan. "I'm going to break you out, grandfather." At this the great Lord Grindelwald gaped like a fish.

"I have no children much less grandchildren. Explain."

"In the year 1959 you had a number of visits from the Lady Audrey La Fay. These visits eventually led to a romantic relationship and she ended up pregnant. She had a daughter in a muggle hospital and died giving birth. Your daughter was adopted and went to Hogwarts as a muggle-born her name was Lily Evans, she eventually married James Potter and they had me."

Partway through the explanation Grindelwald had sat down in shock. He was mumbling quietly to himself. He looked up and spoke in an uncertain voice. "My grandson?" At Harry's nod he got up and embraced Harry in a surprisingly firm hug. "And what is this about breaking me out?"

At this Harry's mouth twisted into a truly frightening grin. "I am a shadow mage; it is well within my power. Now that I have been here I will be able to find my way back through the shadows. There are no wards that can stop me. I will leave now and return tonight. Goodbye for now grandfather." And with that parting remark he waved his hand to cancel the silencing ward and swept from the cell.

Later that night he reappeared in the cell looking around he spotted his grandfather asleep on the bed. Reaching down he gently shook him awake before putting a finger to his lips. He began to whisper. "Is there anything that you need from here? At Grindelwald gestured to a bag Harry picked it up a laid a hand on his grandfather's shoulder. Holding his other hand palm out towards the tiny window he triggered the Dragon talisman. With a resounding boom he blasted a hole in the wall before disappearing into the shadows. With that Nurmengrad's last prisoner vanished without a trace.

**See Profile for outfit image.**

**Thank you all for your reviews.**


	3. Chapter 3

The Rise of the Shadow Mage

Chapter Three

Building an Empire

Another two years had passed since the fateful prison break and Harry was as busy as ever. After he had freed his grandfather he had explained what he wished to accomplish and had asked for his help in his magical training. Gellert had agreed and had set Harry at a grueling pace. He began with wanded magic and was astounded at how quickly Harry progressed. What he later found out was that Harry had already studied the theory and his photographic memory helped immensely with the wand movements and incantations. He also avoided teaching Harry what he would learn in the first four years of a normal magical education so that he wouldn't be too bored when he went to school. He concentrated mostly on dueling and combat spells.

He also began teaching Harry about what he called the Great Game or politics and intrigue as they are usually called. And by the end of the two years Harry was extremely proficient at making people dance to his tune. That training was essential if he was to prosper as the Head of so many Houses. And a necessary part of that was learning other languages. Again his photographic memory prove an incredible asset as he quickly mastered French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Greek, Celtic, Irish, Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, Danish, Swedish, Gobbledegook, and Dwarfish.

Now it was his tenth birthday and for his present his Grandfather was taking him to the castle that had been gifted to him by his own father Ludwig III of Bavaria for a bit of a break. They had traveled by portkey to just outside the wards and had to hike the rest of the way to the castle. As the castle came into view Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "That is Schloss Neuschwanstein. I thought it was a tourist attraction?"

His grandfather chuckled, "The tourist attraction is a fake that was made so we could keep the real castle hidden from prying eyes. This is the real one. It is hidden by blood wards. Unlike the wards at Privet Dr," he noticed a slight wince on his grandson's face at the reminder of his 'relatives', "these hide the castle from any without my blood, or the servants. It was to be my fallback position during the war but was never used. The reason I brought you here is that I have a fairly large collection of artifacts and I think two in particular might interest you." And with that he led Harry into the castle and through a twisted corridor to deep underneath the castle. He opened a large vault and lit the torches. Inside were stacks of gold as well as a number of objects on pedestals around the wall. Two of the pedestals caught Harry's eye. On one was a large golden shield, but it was not the shield itself that caught Harry's eye but the object in the shield. It was another of the Talismans to be exact the Rooster talisman. He moved forward and lifted the shield before gently removing the talisman. The other was miraculously another talisman. He was so entranced by it he didn't hear his grandfather come up behind him.

"I got that during one of my trips to Tibet. I recognized it as something similar to the Rooster in the shield." Harry barely heard him he had found the horse talisman. It was probably the second most useful of the Talisman after the Dog. He reached out and reverently picked it up.

As soon as he picked it up the talisman activated and Harry began to scream before he collapsed. Grindelwald moved with surprising speed for an old man and caught him before he fell. As he was holding Harry he noticed a wisp of green smoke escaping from Harry's scar before it dissipated. His face paled. He knew what that green smoke meant he was not a Dark Lord for nothing. He should have known that Voldemort would have made a Horcrux. He could also guess that he made more than one. The only way Harry could have become a Horcrux was if Voldemort had already been planning on making one that night and if that had been his first one Harry would have long since been dead as half of a soul would had had enough power to resurrect itself from Harry's life force. Therefore the questions were how many did he make and also where did he hide them.

Harry began to stir and pulled Gellert from his thoughts. "What happened? The last thing I remember was grabbing the talisman."

Gellert gave a deep sigh. "It seems that the healing power of the Horse talisman expelled a portion of Voldemort's soul from within your curse scar. I believe it is highly likely that he has created multiple Horcruxes and that you were one, most likely by accident when the killing curse rebounded."

Harry seemed to sag at this. "Well at least we have confirmation of how he survived."

Gellert gave a small smile. "Yes and we can begin the search for them. We also seem to have something that can deal with them quite easily. I believe that the rune translates as expel all alien forces within. Now let us return to Avalon we had best make sure there are no lasting effects."

Harry shadow walked the two of them back to the family quarters and called for Tipsy and the head elf-healer Mercy. They explained what happened and both elves were overjoyed that the dark presence was gone and that the scar was far lighter than before. Mercy still insisted that he spend the night under her watchful eyes so they could make sure there were no residual effects of playing host to Voldemort's soul shard for so long. He had the best night sleep he had ever had and in the morning Mercy told him that there was no residue and that he should expect an increase in magical power as when the soul shard was present a large portion of his magic was constantly diverted to hold it at bay. He would have to adjust the amount of power he placed in his spells until he got used to his new power.

After he left the infirmary he headed to his master study to prepare a few notes to send off. It was time for Duke Harry James Potter Crown Prince of Avalon to make an appearance. He entered his lavish study and set to writing a few letters of request. His first letter was to the current leader of the Dwarves, Thorin VIII. He wanted the dwarves on his side as they were excellent smiths and craftsmen and were staunch allies if they ever pledged their loyalty. He knew that they were on fairly bad terms with wizards because of the theft of three of their greatest treasures. The Le Fay family had obtained these treasures around 20 years ago from the family of the thieves themselves. Hopefully it would help ease the tensions long enough to conduct negotiations. The next two were sent to the head of the Veela community and Banshee community. He knew the Veela and Banshees were not treated well even in France. He asked for a meeting about a possible relocation and alliance. He hoped these meetings would gain him allies and that his terms were good enough to keep them from Voldemort should he ever return.

His next letters were decidedly more political in nature. After finishing up these letters he created raven from his shadows and directed them to take the letters and wait for a reply. He was finally done and preparing for bed he called for Tipsy. She appeared with a small pop. "Tipsy would you please inform the best of the tracker elves that they are to pass their jobs to another team and their new priority is to obtain any and all information possible about Voldemort's past."

Tipsy gave a small bow and a quick, "Yes Master" before leaving. With that settled Harry fell asleep quickly.

He woke early the next morning to find that all of messenger ravens had returned with replies. Taking a seat at his breakfast table he dismissed the ravens and the melted back into shadows. He opened the first letter a reply from the Dwarves. At first he was surprised at the semi-friendly tone, or semi-friendly for Dwarves at least. They requested a meeting with him the following week. The letters from the Veela and Banshee were similar and both had requested meetings. Felling slightly happier he opened the next letter, It was the reply from the current Head of the Black Family. While Harry had only given his title as Lord Le Fay it was enough for Arcturus Black to agree to a meeting. He requested a meeting at Harry's earliest convenience. Harry decided that he would go this morning. The other letters were replies from the vassal families of the Pendragon family, all had agreed to a meeting at Avalon in two days time.

Finishing his breakfast Harry got dressed for the day. He decided on a set of black acromantula silk robes with a hood and underneath was a set of living Mithril armor. Living Mithril was unique in it was a metal plate armor that conformed to his body like dragonhide armor and was about as spell resistant but was also much lighter and if necessary could stop a bullet from most handguns and rifles. It was also almost weightless so it didn't feel like he was wearing armor. He wore fingerless black gloves with a Mithril plate on the backs. The plate on his left hand held the Dragon Talisman and the plate on his right hand held the Rooster Talisman. The Snake and Horse Talismans were hung on necklaces around his neck. He place the signet ring that now contained the Le Fay, Pendragon, Slytherin, Potter, and Grindelwald signets on his right index finger and the Elvin Ring Narya on his left index finger. Finally he wore a pair of black combat boots that had permanent silencing charms on them and were made of dragonhide.

Now that he was ready he prepared to leave. He headed to the fireplace inside what were known as the family quarters. The family quarters were just that, a living area that was private for members of the Royal family. The only way to access it was through one set of doors off the entrance hall or to floo there using a blood ward protected floo. He arrived at the floo and flooed to Black Castle.

The next evening Harry stepped out of the shadows completely exhausted. He had visited a number of families over the last two days and had gained a lot of support by reactivating the old vassal contracts.

His first visit had been the most profitable. Arcturus Black III was ill and near death. As he had no heir left free and he could no longer run the Black Family it had only taken minor use of his shadow legillemency in order to convince the old man to hand over the Black and Lestrange family rings. In a small ceremony presided over by one of the former Lord Black's servants he had handed over control of the family to Harry.

Harry's shadow legillemency was a combination of both practices that utilized the shadow powers to hide the legillemency probes and to implant commands in the subconscious. He could not implant thoughts to control people nor could he plant them in just anyone. Even a mediocre magic user could resist at least at first, so in order to get the commands to stick he needed a weakness to exploit. In Arcturus Black's case the fact that he was infected with wizards flu weakened his resistance just enough to get a subtle trust command through so Harry could convince him to hand over the rings. The rest of the families had sworn oaths as vassals of the House of Le Fay. This opened their minds to him almost completely and he could lay down a series of compulsions of loyalty and subservience to Harry. He had even implanted loyalty oaths in his grandfather after he rescued him. Due to his time at the Dursleys he had serious issues with trust.

His next stops were to the vassal houses of Parkinson, Greengrass, Zabini and the Head of the Department of Mysteries, Unspeakable Croaker. The unspeakables had been under the control of the Le Fay's since their creation and he placed the oaths on all of them. He spent some time with each family and got to know them and their children, especially the Hogwarts bound ones. He had found two who would be in the same year as him that he thought would make excellent companions. Blaise Zabini was the son of the famous black widow. He was serious and calm almost on the point of cold yet he pledged his loyalty almost immediately upon meeting Harry. He had a tactical mind and would be an excellent resource both at Hogwarts and after. The other was Daphne Greengrass she was as cold as they come and completely ruthless with a slight hint of insanity. She had no qualms about inflicting pain and would make an excellent enforcer as no one would suspect her. She was a young smarter Bellatrix Lestrange and would be extremely useful in the war that was sure to come. The rest of the children were only marginally useful and would be pawns.

At the tender age of ten Harry now controlled 26 votes in the 100 seat Wizengamot. He was a powerful political force but had ordered the vassals under his control to continue as they had before because he was not ready to reveal himself just yet.

His final meetings were just as profitable. He had met with the Dwarves, Veela, and Werewolves. He had returned the three dwarven treasures to them and when he ask for nothing in return save the negotiation of an alliance he had earned great respect in their eyes. He had negotiated for support in the way of smiths and warriors in exchange for the return of the lost Mithril mines of Moria. The Dwarves were ecstatic they had immediately agreed and had named him a friend of the dwarves. Next he met with the Veela and had offered them a new home at Avalon. The Veela were currently settled in France and while France was fairly progressive compared to the rest of Europe they were still fairly repressing and controlling. He offered the Veela a home with almost complete self rule with only nominal oversight by the Kingdom of Avalon. They accepted and he had given them the use of one of the Islands that already had a settlement there. The final group was the British werewolves. They had eagerly accepted after he killed Greyback. He offered them free Wolfsbane and a safe place for them to transform and a home in a non-prejudiced environment. About 70% of the British Werewolves had migrated to Avalon and had taken residence on another of the islands.

He had finished gathering his forces and would spend the next year preparing to go to Hogwarts.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Rise of the Shadow Mage**

**Chapter Four**

**Diagon Alley

* * *

**

**A/N: How a shadow mage gains their ability is from another author. I can't remember the exact story. Harry is going to have skewed morals. He is going to be dark and will have qualms about killing someone who goes against him. He also trusts no one except the elves and that is because of the loyalty oaths in their contracts. This is a byproduct of his time at the Dursleys. Despite this he or perhaps because of it he is fiercely protective of those who can't defend themselves. He also hates bullies.

* * *

**

Today was Harry's 11th birthday and he was ready to go to Diagon alley. He had received his Hogwarts letter a week ago and today he was going to get his school supplies. He had gotten up early today and couldn't get back to sleep, he was too excited. For all of his maturity and confidence he was still a child at heart.

A few hours passed and it was finally time to leave. He was accompanied by his grandfather who despite being a wanted criminal was adamant about coming with him. It was unlikely that he would be recognized even by Dumbledore. He had recovered greatly and no longer looked like the pale gaunt man that he was when he last saw Dumbledore.

They flooed to the Leaky Cauldron and moved through the Alley headed for Gringotts. They walked inside the bank and approached the nearest teller. In Gobbledegook Harry requested a meeting with a member of the inheritance department. The Goblin gave him a toothy sneer and directed him to one of the numerous hallways. Harry gave the Goblin a curt nod and they headed down the hallway to the inheritance department. Arriving at their destination they knocked on the door and receiving a come in they entered the office. Seated behind an ornate desk was an elderly goblin. Harry sat down and jumped straight to the point.

"I wish to claim my familial inheritance."

The Goblin sneered at Harry. "You are far too young to claim your inheritance leave."

At this Harry released his tight control on his magic. To the goblin it seemed that a great pressure had descended on him making it hard to breathe. He looked into Harry's eyes and he saw a sight that would terrify him until the day he died. The sclera of Harry's eyes was pitch-black and the green irises seemed to radiate a cold fire. Harry's cloak seemed to move to an unearthly wind and the shadows in the room seemed to reach out to touch the young man.

The goblin had never seen or felt anything like it before but he knew the old tales. In the last Goblin rebellion prior to the founding of Gringotts in the 1800's many humans were captured and held in their dungeons. One of the humans was a young girl of about five. She was held in the darkness of the dungeon for almost two years. In the darkness the child awakened a power greater than the might of the entire Goblin army. She was a Shadow Mage. In her grief at losing her family and her anger at being held captive she lashed out at the Goblins. Her power was so great that none could stand in her path; she slaughtered whole legions and single-handedly caused the end of the war and the surrender of the Goblins. In the end she perished at the hands of wizards who were fearful of her power but the damage was done, fifty percent of the Goblin population in England had been eradicated. While she had faded from the memories of the wizards, the Goblins never forgot the power she could wield. Shortly after her death the remaining Goblin leaders passed a decree that if ever another shadow mage was to arise that the Goblins would swear allegiance so as to avoid the destruction that was sure to come.

Scared for his life the Goblin hurriedly informed Harry that he could of course accommodate his request but he needed to bring in a senior Goblin to assist. As he hurried from the room he failed to see the vicious smirk that adorned Harry's face. The Goblin ran straight to the Director's office. He stopped outside the office and informed the guard that he had an emergency situation to report. He was let in and he explained the situation to the director. His description of Harry caused the director to send out an emergency floo-call to all Gringotts directors and he sent the Head of Inheiritances to bring the shadow mage to his office.

Two hours later Harry and his grandfather left Gringotts very happy. While Grindelwald knew that the Goblins feared a shadow mage he didn't think they would go to this extent in order to appease Harry. When they met the director he surprised them by swearing the allegiance of Gringotts England to him, then the rest of the rest of the directors arrived and swore their allegiance. This was a great boon to Harry as it gave him complete control over the money supply of the majority of the Wizarding world. He also received an immediate inheritance ritual at his request and took control of the Potter, Black, Lestrange, and Grindelwald vaults. He was extremely wealthy from these families and added to the Le Fay fortune he was among the top twenty richest families and was the richest individual in Britain. They had even found the first of Voldemort's Horcruxes in the Lestrange Vault. He had recognized the description of Hufflepuff's cup that was on the ledger having received information from the elves a few months ago.

This was the last stop. They had everything except his wand. He pushed open the door and heard a soft bell sound to announce their presence. A man moved out into the open and smiled. _"I wondered when I would be seeing you Mr. Potter. It seems only yesterday that your parents were in here buying their first wand."_

Harry gave an irritated scowl and motioned for Ollivander to get on with it. Ollivander walked over to a shelf and pulled out a wand before handing it to Harry. It gave off no reaction and Ollivander snatched it from his hand while muttering. After about 30 different wands Harry was extremely irritated especially since Ollivander seemed to be enjoying himself immensely. Finally after another dozen wands Ollivander was ecstatic; he motioned for Harry to follow him. "Follow me Mr. Potter you are the first to require one of the masterpieces in over 75 years." He led Harry to a back room full of about two dozen wand boxes on pedestals. "This Mr. Potter is the room of the masterpiece wands. These wands are all the greatest creations of the different Ollivanders. Each one is utterly unique and it is very rare to find a wizard that even contains requisite power to wield one." He moved over to one of the wands and handed it to Harry. After seven different wands Ollivander handed Harry what appeared to be a crystal rod with beautiful silver inlay that looked like vines wrapped around it. The moment his hand closed around it Harry knew that this was his wand. The room while dark before was immersed in shadows for a second before the shadows were drawn into the wand. The wand that before was white crystal now seemed to have a black tinge.

Ollivander and Grindelwald were gob smacked. Neither had ever heard of anything like this. Ollivander regained his voice and with an extremely happy voice announced, "Simply amazing Mr. Potter. The wand you hold in your hand was crafted over 400 years ago. The maker was among the best in my family and the only one to ever create a dual-cored wand. Unfortunately he took the secret to the grave. The wand is made of diamond with a Mithril inlay and the fang of a Nundu soaked in freely given Unicorn blood as the core. It is the most balanced wand I have ever seen and I expect that it and you will be legendary. I will be keeping an eye on you Mr. Potter you are most interesting. Also there is no charge for the wand there never is for the masterpieces. Good day young man." With that Harry and Grindelwald left the store and returned to Avalon.

Harry immediately retreated to his private training area and began to get used to his new wand. He could feel his magic sing when he cast spells and even his shadow abilities were augmented.

* * *

Harry glided along despite being in a Muggle suit he still had a strong commanding presence. The crowds of Muggles parted before him as he moved through King's Cross station. He approached the barrier and crossed over when he was sure he was unnoticed. He approached the train which was still mostly deserted. It was 10:30 and there were only a few people on the platform. More than likely they were Muggle-born as the majority of wizarding families usually didn't arrive until the last minute. Entering the train he moved towards the back. Along the way he encountered Blaise, Daphne and Pansy. He motioned for them to follow him. They continued to move to the back and when they reached the last car they encountered a young girl who was more than likely a first year and by the way she was engrossed in an Introduction to the magical world book she was more than likely a Muggle-born. She looked up and Harry was captivated by her chocolate brown eyes. At that moment Harry felt something he had repressed for many years, the stirrings of love. He knew that it would be near impossible to find someone like her again. His passive legillemency could barely pick up her thoughts they were so fast. She was intelligent, and was the only person he had met that was anywhere near his intelligence. She would be perfect as his queen and he would have her but he knew he would never force her. He would never use his compulsion on her. As she looked at him and a slight blush appeared on her face. He gave a roguish grin and moved forward. He lifted her hand and gave it a light kiss. "Good evening my lady might I ask your name?"

She blushed even more at this and lowered her eyes. "I'm Hermione Granger." At that Harry heard a slight snort and a muttered mudblood from Blaise. Harry's head snapped around and locked gazes with Blaise. He gulped and Harry used his powers to wipe any thoughts of blood supremacy and bigotry from his mind. The he flicked his gaze to Daphne and Pansy and did the same. He turned back to Hermione and asked her to join him. She looked confused which was understandable as this appeared to be the last car. He waved his wand in response to her unspoken question and a door appeared.

"Welcome to the Head of Family compartments." He opened the door and motioned her through. She moved through and her jaw dropped at the sight before her. The compartment was clearly far larger on the inside than on the outside. There were about twenty large comfy chairs and a few couches scattered about with a number of small fireplaces and tables. On one side was a long bar with a house elf behind it. The elf gave a large smile and bounded over eagerly to take their orders. Hermione gave a small shriek at the sight of the house-elf.

Harry put a reassuring arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him much to his pleasure. "This is a house-elf Hermione."

She looked outraged. "I've read about them there slaves. How can you condone this?"

Harry gave a small chuckle. "They are slaves but they choose the slavery voluntarily. In return for wizards protection they bound themselves and their descendants to wizarding families. They take the same joy from working that we do in our sports and hobbies. While the danger to them has passed they remain because they want to."

She spluttered at this before uttering a confused "really."

He smiled gently at her. "Really now let us order."

The four of them ordered and sat down. Harry told Hermione a little about himself and before long the five of them were getting along famously. They didn't even notice the train leave the station and would have continued if the house-elf hadn't popped in and told them that lunch was ready. They moved to the second car and enjoyed a lavish lunch. After lunch they returned to the first compartment and continued their discussion. About two hours into the trip the handle to their compartment rattled and they could hear someone on the other side complaining. The elf went to open the door and they could hear an arrogant voice demanding entry. The elf asked who it was and closed the door before appearing at Harry's side.

"Master there is a boy named Draco Malfoy at the door demanding entry."

Harry sneered, "Let him in."

The elf went and opened the door and an irritated looking blond pushed the elf out of the way as he entered. His eye widened slightly at the opulence of the compartment before turning to the five of them with a haughty expression on his face. "I heard that Harry Potter is on the train and as this is the last car one of you must be him."

Harry looked back his expressionless. "And who are you?"

With an upturned nose he replied, "I am Draco Malfoy and who are you."

"Daphne Greengrass."

"Blaise Zabini."

"Pansy Parkinson."

"Hermione Granger."

"I don't recognize the name Granger."

"My parents are Muggles."

"A filthy Mudblood."

At this Hermione looked like she was about to cry. Harry stood up with a furious expression on his face. "If I ever hear you utter that word again I will not hesitate to break every bone in your body. Leave! Now!"

At this Draco's face twisted with anger. "Do you know who my father is? He will….Urk."

Harry could no longer contain his rage and had called forth shadows to lift the young Malfoy up by his throat. "I don't care! I am Duke Harry James Potter, Lord Le Fay, Crown Prince of Avalon. Your father is an insignificant bug compared to me." And with that he threw Draco from the compartment and the Elf relocked the door.

Hermione had broken down and began sobbing. Harry reached out and pulled her into an embrace. He wrapped his arms around her and spoke reassuring words in her ears. After a time she stopped crying and looked up at him. "Hermione I will not allow him or anyone to bother one of my friends. I will protect you."

This set her crying again and in between her tears she managed to choke out that she never had friends before. Harry smiled at her and pulled her closer. They spent the rest of the ride in each other's arms.


End file.
